The Valentine's Day Gifts
by FreeBird2017
Summary: After much searching, Will and Jem have finally found the perfect Valentine's Day gifts for each other. When Valentine's Day comes, though... Well, they always say that great minds think alike.


Will had an idea. Will had a horrible, wonderful, awesome idea.

For the past three weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, he had had no idea what to get Jem. Jem had insisted multiple times that he would be fine with a card and a heart-shaped box of chocolates, but Will insisted on actually getting him something a lot bigger than that. As soon as he said that, though, a problem arose.

He had no idea what to get Jem.

More rosin? Practical, but not very romantic.

A new bow? Jem had said multiple times that he didn't want to buy a new bow until he absolutely needed one.

A Swiffer mop? Will had thought of that one while wandering aimlessly through a store, looking for something for Jem. He had almost bought it, but he quickly realized that it was the most stupid and unromantic gift he could possibly find.

And then the idea came.

Will found the perfect gift on the Tube on the way home from work. He was standing in the car after giving up his seat to a woman holding a baby and was scrolling through Facebook when he saw a post from a friend who was a priest. He almost scrolled past it, but went back and clicked on the picture to get a better look at it. After a few minutes of looking at the picture and reading the post it was attached to, he made up his mind.

He had found the best present in the world. (Besides himself, of course.)

. .HERONSTAIRS

Jem knew that he wanted to get Will something special from the moment that he realized that Valentine's Day was coming. After all, it was their fifth Valentine's Day together, and their third as a married couple. At the moment, though, he had no idea what he was going to get Will.

Jem went to the bookstore and browsed the shelves for a while (and possibly used Will's lengthy Goodreads to-read list as reference), but he decided that their living room might collapse under the weight of all the books that Will refused to get rid of and he was definitely not helping by buying him more books. After that, Jem had briefly considered looking for a house for them to buy, but that ended when he decided that they should save their money more before doing that.

Finally, after a lot of careful planning and deliberation, he…

Still had no idea what to get Will.

And then he saw The Video.

Jem was scrolling through YouTube while he was waiting for Will to get home from work when something unexpectedly popped up in his recommendations. As soon as he saw the thumbnail, he knew that all of his wishes had just come true.

He went online to do his research immediately.

. .HERONSTAIRS

Will was practically shaking with excitement as he made Jem sit down on the couch on Valentine's Day. Jem had no idea why he was so excited, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with the reason that he hadn't been allowed in the guest room closet for the past week. His excitement could also have been because Will wanted to find out why he wasn't allowed to go in Jem's office/music room.

"Alright," Will said, "just close your eyes and put your hands out. I'll be back in a second."

Jem did as he said and waited as he heard Will running through the flat and opening and closing doors. After a few minutes of Jem wondering what Will could possibly be giving him, he heard Will run back into the living room and stop in front of him.

"Ready?" Will asked.

"I'm ready," Jem answered. He was a little worried that Will was going to give him something slimy or gross, but he trusted Will. Mostly.

Jem felt Will carefully put something non-slimy or gross in his hands. Instead, it was soft and warm and… squirming?

He opened his eyes to see a tiny gray kitten sitting in his hands and Will looking at him with a huge smile on his face.

"You're kidding," Jem said with a straight face. It was somewhat because he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Will had gotten him something that he had been wanting for years, but it was also because he still needed to give Will his gift.

"I'm not," Will said. He was still smiling and Jem could tell that he was very proud of himself. "I got him from Enoch. Remember him? The priest? Well, anyway, he's already familiar with the flat cause I let him out when you weren't home and he knows who you are because I put one of your shirts in the closet with him. He kind of knows how to use the litter box but we're still working on it. Also, he's a Persian, in case you were wondering."

"He's…" Jem stared down at the kitten for a few seconds and then looked back up at Will. "I love him."

Will instantly looked relieved and said, "Oh, thank God. I was worried you were going to be mad."

"Why would I be mad?"

"Maybe because I went out and got you a cat without ever discussing it with you," Will said sarcastically.

Jem shrugged. "If you just came home on any random non-holiday, I think I would be a little mad, but this is a special occasion. Now, are you ready for your present?"

Will had apparently forgotten that he was getting a present too because he gasped when Jem mentioned it. "I'm always ready for presents."

Jem got up and put the kitten down on the floor to let him explore for a little while. Now that he noticed it, any loose cords had been tied up or hidden and all of the outlets had child-proof inserts in them. Will must have kitten-proofed the house the night before while Jem was asleep.

He had Will sit down on the couch where he had been sitting and made him close his eyes. Once he was sure that Will wasn't going to peek, he went into his office and, glad that he had put it into a more portable container while Will was in the bathroom an hour ago, picked up Will's present and went back into the living room.

Will still had his eyes closed, thankfully, so Jem stopped in front of him and said, "Okay, open them."

As soon as he opened his eyes, Will burst out laughing and, once he had recovered enough, said, "I guess we both had the same idea for presents."

"I guess so," Jem said. He handed Will the plastic box he was holding so he could get a better look at it. "It's a boy, by the way. It not very obvious from the outside."

Will opened the top of the box so he could take out the baby red bearded dragon that was inside. "How did you know I wanted a bearded dragon?"

"Well," Jem said, "Thomas has one and every time we see him you ask about it, so I just kind of assumed."

"You assumed correctly," Will said. He held the lizard up to his face and looked it in the eye. "Hey there, little guy. What should we name you? How about Gluteus Maximus?"

Jem had been watching the kitten play with a piece of fuzz he had found in the corner when he heard Will say that and was not expecting it at all. It was so sudden and unexpected that he nearly choked on his own spit and had to cough a few times before turning to Will.

"Why on earth would you name him Gluteus Maximus?" he asked.

"It's pretty obvious," Will said defensively. "He's red and he's a bearded dragon and I want to pay homage to my one and only tattoo. I'll call him Max, of course. No need to use his full name all the time."

An image suddenly popped into Jem's head of Will showing a little old lady on the Tube a picture of Max and having to tell her what his full name was. "Well, alright. If you insist."

"What are you naming him?" Will asked, pointing to the kitten who was currently lounging in a patch of sun and grooming himself.

"I want a name that describes who he is as a cat," Jem said. "Nothing like Max's name."

Will looked appalled at the idea of naming an animal something that had a real meaning instead of a body part. "Well, he was born in a church and his previous owner is a priest."

"That is true…" Jem said. He bent down and picked up the kitten. "Maybe… Church?"

"Sounds perfect."

Jem leaned down to where Will was still sitting on the couch to kiss him. When he straightened back up, he said, "Happy Valentine's Day."

Will smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day."


End file.
